Going barefoot???

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hallarider

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I am at the end of my tether with my horse losing shoes.

I have so far:

Changed his diet, including adding hoof supplements (newmarket hoof formula)
Having farrier every four weeks (which is becoming every two weeks due to risen clenches)
Cornucresine every other day
Hoof moist

He won't keep on over reach boots, he tears them off with his teeth.

But STILL he loses shoes and takes half his hoof with it so the farrier has nothing to work with SO....

I am trying barefoot with Old Mac boots for working him in.
I was totally against this a few months ago and when someone told me about it i was just like "yeah yeah whatever". But now I am becoming a bit desperate as its making him foot sore losing all these shoes.

Has anybody got any experience of their horses going barefoot. Will my farrier still be able to trim my horse or will it have to be someone qualified for this? Am I totally mad, is there something else I can try?

By the way, this is the 3rd farrier I have tried so I can blame him!

many thanks
 
My horse has been barefoot all his life. Perhaps a bit different to a horse that has been shod and then goes barefoot. I would definitely recommend it depending on if your horse is a hardy type who without shoes would grow good quality horn! He may be sore for a few days when the shoes come off, but they do move better without shoes in my opinion. The soles of his feet will just take time to harden up. My farrier trims every 6 weeks as normal. Good luck!
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I went barefoot with my TB and my farrier trimmed his feet - I used Old Macs for hacking - my TB's feet really benefitted from not having shoes.
 
How old is your horse? If he has had shoes on for most of his life, it may take considerably longer than a few days for him to come sound without shoes. This is due to the damage the shoes have done to the circulation in his feet, without the shoes he'll be able to feel his feet again. Going barefoot may seem cheaper, but its hard work. Saying that it is worthwhile, I took my tb mare barefoot two years ago and despite initial soreness, with road work (boot less) and boots for stoney tracks, she coped really well and her feet looked amazing. There are lots of sites out there that should be able to help, I know the enlightened equitation boards have a dedicated forum.. maybe if you ask there they could help further?

Hope it goes well, whatever you decide.

Oh and about farriers... we had a specialist barefoot trimmer, (ex farrier) who came and did my mares feet for the first six months, then with good road work, we kept on top of her foot growth and just needed the local farrier to rebalance her feet occasionally.
 
My horse went barefoot for the same reason. I kept him barefoot over the winter for 9 months until the ground got hard and he got sore. It would have been unfair to him to shoeless anylonger, but it really helped his feet.

Supplements take about 9 months to a year to improve hoof condition.

My usual farrier kept his feet trimmed and Jake did well.

Jake always has been prissy with his feet.

I would recommend this and use the old macs for riding in. At I would have used old macs, but they didnt have any big enough for Jake.
 
I've had mixed experiences. When I retired my Selle Francais I took his shoes off & he never really coped with being walked on hard or stony ground. He did have 4 white feet though. My IDx was barefoot until I wanted to start doing XC & needed studs, and my WBxTB is currently barefoot cos she had the winter off so shoes came off. Haven't bothered putting them back on & she's working on grass with no probs.

Have you got ur farrier to try putting hind shoes (2 clips) on the fronts? Sometimes that can help. I use Keratex hoof moist - it's expensive but works for me.
 
My last Horse I had barefoot - a TB X Holsten. Literally he had his shoes off and I just carried on riding. I did no roadwork anyway and the hacking was all on sandy forest tracks. He was fine. He too was loosing shoes and had bad feet. Regular farrier trimmed him. I did try a specialist but he charged a fortune and made no difference. Feet improved no end, no supplements. Farrier told me if the Horse has a balanced diet supplements won't help anyway.

For a Horse that keeps loosing shoes and has poor quality feet I think it is the best thing to do. Give them a chance to recover.
 
He's five and has had shoes for about 18 months. I don't think there is a quick fix out there, but I think this is worth a go. I would say he loses a shoe every four to five weeks which is not good.

thanks everyone for your stories and advice
 
If only it was a simple as just whipping the shoes off! TBH barefoot is more a lifestyle you need to adopt with diet, enviroment, exercise, and trimming having to change slightly. Everything needs to be 'manged' rather more and it takes commitment, time and cash.

First you need to discuss this with your farrier because he may actually have to visit more often so needs to be comitted to what you are doing and support you.

I'm currently making the transition to barefoot with my older horse who has lousy feet with the added complication of some pedal bone rotation. He's been barefoot behind for several years but had the fronts take off 3 weeks ago after losing one for the umpteenth time and having nothing left to nail to.

As I'm now on my own yard where he won't have to cope with stony surfaces and I've got control of his mangement, decided not to struggle with glue on's etc, been there, done that!

He was very, very sore for the first two weeks so much so I had the vet out and put him on box rest with Danilon and a deep bed, basically treated as if laminitis. He's now off the Danilon and allowed out for a few hours with his slippers on depending on the hardness of the ground. He's not sound yet, but not the sorry little soul I wanted to pick up and carry two weeks ago!

Farrier has been this morning and feels we have broken the back of it but I reckon it will be several weeks before he is sound enough to work in his boots. Meanwhile the vet has given him the green light to go swimming as he's lost so much muscle.

By my reckoning any horse can go barefoot, with help but bear in mind he could be off for a little while. If you want to try it now's the time because dry ground is what his feet need to harden. You're already using boots which is sensible, good luck!
 
my horse is barefoot. Mine was the same he used to loose his shoes just 3 days after the farrier came. I was having to spend a fortune. I rarely ended up riding him as he never had shoes and the farrier was so unreliable for turning up when planned. Niagara was also on supplements and has his hooves greased too. I made the decision to go barefoot. He's much happier, and i save a fortune! Also, a farrier told me hoof grease softens the hoof wall. It's just there to keep moisture in when hooves are very dry. Although looking at British weather i don't think you need to grease.
I would change to barefoot.
Good Luck! - I know how stressful it is..
 
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